Mike Sullivan at a loss for words after another Penguins loss.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a busy schedule to start the 2025-25 National Hockey League regular season with 6 games already under their belts, and unfortunately half of those games have not gone their way.

On Friday the Penguins suffered another loss, this time at the hands of divisional rivals the Carolina Hurricanes, and following the loss it was clear that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was not happy with the team's effort.

"We played in our end tonight," said an unhappy Sullivan.

The Penguins were victims of defensive mistakes from star players like defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, and when Sullivan was asked about the team's performance on the back end it was clear that he was not at all satisfied.

"We probably played 3 games that don't live up to our expectations, let's just say it that way," said Sullivan. "We have to have higher expectations of ourselves."

Sullivan wasn't alone in his displeasure however, with veteran forward Lars Eller also expressing his disbelief of the lackluster effort put forward by the Penguins group on Friday.

"There's so many things that need to be better," said Eller. "The attitude, the energy, the execution... we put ourselves in bad spots all the time. I hope we won't see another game like this."

"I think we did it to ourselves," said Eller. "I think our lack of energy, will, winning pucks, execution was all missing today."

Sullivan was asked about Eller's comments during his postgame media availability and echoed the sentiment.

"Yes," said Sullivan when asked if he agreed with Ellers comments about the team's lackluster effort.

The Penguins will need to do better, especially against divisional rivals, if they are to have any hope of avoiding missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season.